We don’t have to passively sit back and watch Australia’s species and ecosystems die. Here are five concrete steps the next government should take.
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Great Barrier Reef – Analyses
The fate of nature underpins our economy and health. Yet in the election campaign to date, there’s been a deafening silence about it.
Look beyond the fanfare about large infrastructure projects like Hells Gate and what we are left with is a largely business-as-usual budget for regional Australia
Coral reefs that suffer widespread bleaching can still recover if conditions improve, but it’s estimated to take up to 12 years. And that’s if no more bleaching events occur.
Coral in the Great Barrier Reef is once again bleaching, with water temperatures up to 3°C higher than normal in some places.
The reef is suffering environmental conditions that are so extreme, scientists are struggling to simulate these scenarios in laboratories.
Throughout the past 230 years, over 1,200 vessels met their end on the reef – but only 114 have been found.
Saving the Great Barrier Reef is not about throwing money at it – what matters is how the dollars are spent.
The old ways of keeping giant clam species healthy won’t work with climate change. We need new techniques - and fast.
New research shows just 2% of the Great Barrier Reef remains untouched by bleaching since 1998. Its future survival depends on how much higher we allow global temperatures to rise.
Goby fish and coral rely on each other to survive. But new research found gobies are declining under climate change, dealing a double blow to Australia’s reefs.
The push for a new environmental crime has attracted high-profile backers including French President Emmanuel Macron, Pope Francis and Greta Thunberg. But we must get the details right.
The remarkably resilient structure is in good health, for now. But work is needed to ensure it is preserved for future generations.
Academic research can shed light on crucial questions about what life on Earth will be like under the most plausible emissions scenarios. And a warning: the answers are confronting.
Australia may warm by 4°C or more this century, the IPCC has found. As these IPCC authors explain, there is no going back from some changes in the climate system.
Friday’s decision from the World Heritage Committee doesn’t change the irrefutable evidence that dangerous impacts are occurring on the Great Barrier Reef.
Michelle Grattan discusses the political week that was with Professor Paddy Nixon.
Bob Brown on his latest environmental battle, and a critique of Labor
Bob Brown joins the podcast to discuss the state of the Greens, Labor, and Australia's climate change policy
Just because coral is dying, doesn’t mean marine life in reefs will end. New research found dead coral hosted 100 times more microscopic invertebrates than healthy coral.
How do we ensure solutions to climate change doesn’t make biodiversity loss worse? Fifty of the world’s leading researchers on biodiversity and climate have sought to answer this question.
Researchers found 16% of coral species have not been seen for many years. This finding is alarming, because local extinctions suggest global extinctions may be looming.
Federal environment minister Sussan Ley wrote an opinion article saying the reef didn’t deserve to be the poster child for climate change perils. We disagree.
Australia has suggested a UNESCO recommendation to list the Great Barrier Reef as ‘in danger’ was motivated by politics. This is hardly the first such accusation levied at the organisation.
Sussan Ley and Terri Butler on the Great Barrier Reef being ‘in danger’
Michelle Grattan discusses the recommendation by UNESCO that the Great Barrier Reef be classified as "in danger" with Sussan Ley and Terri Butler
The development is significant for several reasons – not least that Australia’s progress under the Paris Agreement is being linked to its stewardship of the reef.